Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the family?which includes all primary caregivers?are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary 1 Introduction 2 Parenting Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices 3 Federal Policies and Investments Supporting Parents and Children in the United States 4 Universal/Preventive and Widely Used Interventions 5 Targeted Interventions Supporting Parents of Children with Special Needs, Parents Facing Special Adversities, and Parents Involved with Child Welfare Services 6 Elements of Effective Parenting Programs and Strategies for Increasing Program Participation and Retention 7 Toward a National Framework 8 Conclusions and Recommendations Appendix A: Public Session Agendas Appendix B: Clearinghouses Used to Identify Interventions with Evidence of Effectiveness Appendix C: Table of Parenting Interventions Appendix D: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members

This volume employs a multidisciplinary approach to research on a high-profile topic very much on the agenda of state and national policy leaders: early childhood development and education. It aims to reflect how scholarly perspectives shape the contours of knowledge generation, and to illuminate the gaps that prevent productive interchange among scholars who value equity in the opportunities available to young children, their families, and teachers/caregivers. The editors and authors identify and prioritize critical research areas; assess the state of the field in terms of promising research designs and methodologies; and identify capacity-building needs and potential cross-group collaborations.

This volume expands on existing research in literacy and African-American education, and discusses a range of literacy issues confronting African-American and other youth in and out of school.